Tips for Locating Primary Sources
Choose historically appropriate keywords. For example, use "Great War" instead of "World War I" to locate documents discussing the war during and just after it occurred. You may also consider different terms that might have been used to describe the same event from opposing sides or perspectives. Searching for the names of particular people or places may also be effective.
Think about what types of primary sources might have been produced that would be relevant to your topic; think also about which persons or organizations might have produced materials. Some possible types of sources:
| Books | Photographs and images |
| Magazine and newspaper articles | Cartoons and advertisements |
| Diaries and journals | Movies, videos, and DVDs |
| Memoirs and autobiographies | Audio recordings |
| Interviews | Public opinion polls |
| Letters | Fiction |
| Speeches | Research data and statistics |
| Documents produced by organizations | Documents produced by government agencies, including congressional hearings and census records |
To locate potential primary sources in the library's online catalog, look for subject headings that contain terms such as diaries, letters, correspondence, autobiography, interviews, or personal narratives following the main heading.
Subject Guide
Kathy Shields
she/her
Subjects: African American Studies, African Studies, American History, Area Studies, East Asian Studies, Ethnic Studies, History - General, Latin American & Latino Studies, Medieval & Early Modern Studies, Middle East & South Asia Studies, Primary Sources, Psychology, Russian & East European Studies, Social Sciences - General, World History
Primary Source Collections at ZSR
To see more primary sources related to American History, visit the Primary Sources at ZSR guide.
- Colonial America This link opens in a new windowProvides access to all volumes of the CO 5 series from the UK National Archives, which consists of the original correspondence between the British government and the governments of the American colonies.
- Accessible Archives This link opens in a new windowProvides access to colonial era newspapers, including the Pennsylvania Gazette, Virginia Gazette, and South Carolina newspapers.
- America's Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new windowSearch the full text of historical newspapers. WFU access includes the Early American Newspapers Series 1 (1690-1876), African American Newspapers Series 1 (1827-1998), African American Newspapers Series 2 (1835-1956), and Caribbean Newspapers (1718-1876). Coverage: 1690-1876, 1827-1998
- American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical Periodicals Collection This link opens in a new windowA collection of American periodicals published between 1684 and 1912. Documents the life of America's people from the Colonial Era through the Civil War and Reconstruction.
- American History, 1493-1945 This link opens in a new windowSourced from the Gilder Lehman Collection, this collection of primary source materials contains two thematic modules - Module I: Settlement, Commerce, Revolution and Reform: 1493-1859; Module II: Civil War, Reconstruction and the Modern Era: 1860-1945. Coverage: 1493-1945
- Ancestry.com This link opens in a new windowAn online family history resource that provides access to historical documents and photos, including birth and death certificates, census records, and more. Useful for biographical research.
- Caribbean Newspapers, 1718-1876 This link opens in a new windowProvides searchable, full page image digital access to newspapers published in the Caribbean region during the 18th and 19th century. Includes titles published in English, Spanish, French, and Danish. Coverage: 1718-1876
- Early American Imprints, Series I & II (combined) This link opens in a new windowIncludes the full text of all known existing books, pamphlets, and broadsides published in the 13 colonies and the United States between 1639-1819. Combined search of both the Evans collection and the Shaw & Shoemaker collection. Coverage: 1639-1819
- Early English Books Online - EEBO This link opens in a new windowFull text of books, pamphlets and broadsides published in England or in English between 1475 and 1700. Includes many of the items indexed in the English Short Title Catalogue. Corresponds to the Pollard and Redgrave, and Wing Short-Title Catalogues, as well as Thomason Tracts. Coverage: 1473-1700
- Eighteenth Century Collections Online - ECCO This link opens in a new windowContains books, pamphlets and broadsides published in England or in English between 1701 and 1800. Includes many of the items indexed in the English Short Title Catalogue. Coverage: 1701-1800
- Eighteenth Century Journals This link opens in a new windowSearch across a wide range of eighteenth century periodicals that cover multiple aspects of contemporary life and culture, including literature, theatre and arts, politics, religion, morality, satire, business, and gender. Primarily UK, but also includes colonial publications from India, Ireland, Canada, and the Caribbean.
- HathiTrust Digital Library This link opens in a new windowFull-text seachable library of high-quality digitized materials such as books, articles, government information, and more from libraries around the world. Includes public domain and in-copyright content. Log in as a WFU user to download PDFs and access additional features. Coverage: Varies
- North American Women's Letters and Diaries This link opens in a new windowIncludes the full text of diaries and letters of women who lived in the United States and Canada from colonial times until 1950. Coverage: 1675-1949
- Rotunda This link opens in a new windowProvides access to primary sources on early American History. ZSR access includes George Washington Papers, Andrew Jackson Papers, Papers of Frederick Law Olmstead, and Founders Early Access.
- Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Burney Newspapers Collection This link opens in a new windowCollection of 17th and 18th century English newspapers and news pamphlets. Published mostly in London, but there are also some English provincial, Irish and Scottish papers, and a few examples from the American colonies, Europe and India. Includes page images. Coverage: 1604-1804
Openly Available Collections
- Library of Congress Digital CollectionsSearchable database of materials digitized and made publicly available by the Library of Congress. Includes documents, photographs, maps, videos, and more.
- Documenting the American South, Colonial and State Records of North CarolinaThe Colonial and State Records of North Carolina includes documents and materials from throughout the country and from several European repositories covering the earliest days of North Carolina's settlement by Europeans through the ratification of the United States Constitution.
The original 26 volumes of historical materials were published between 1886 and 1907. This digital version is complete for the 18th century, but some earlier volumes are still in progress. - Founders Online (National Archives)George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams (and family), Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison. Over 185,000 searchable documents, fully annotated, from the authoritative Founding Fathers Papers projects.
- Thomas Jefferson Papers Online - Library of CongressThe complete Thomas Jefferson Papers at the Library of Congress consists of approximately 27,000 documents ranging in date from 1606 to 1827.